1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information processing apparatus and its method and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and its method for executing processes in accordance with, for example, coordinates which were inputted.
2. Related Background Art
There are various kinds of pen computers in which a coordinate input apparatus is constructed on a monitor to display a computer screen and commands and data are inputted by a pen or the like. According to those computers, characters are inputted and an icon, a menu, or the like displayed on the screen are selected by using the pen and a user interface different from a conventional computer using a keyboard is provided.
As those pen computers, there is a pen computer using a touch panel of a resistive film type as coordinate input means. According to the touch panel of the resistive film type, a predetermined gap is formed between two opposite electrodes and coordinate values (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9cinput coordinate valuesxe2x80x9d) of a position on the touch panel which was depressed by a pen, a finger, or the like is detected from a voltage dividing ratio of a voltage applied to a resistive film or the like.
However, the foregoing technique has the following problems.
In case of the touch panel of the resistive film type, when the touch panel is depressed, input coordinate values are outputted irrespective of means by which the touch panel was depressed. Namely, an entry by a pen and an entry by a finger or the like are processed in the same way. However, in order to more finely make an instruction or to provide an input apparatus of a better use efficiency, it is desirable to distinguish the entry by the pen from the entry by the finger or the like and to execute a proper operation, display, or the like in accordance with a result of the distinction.
The invention is made to solve the foregoing problems and it is an object of the invention to provide an information processing apparatus and its method which can distinguish an input method and perform a proper process according to the distinguished input method.
According to an embodiment of the invention, it is an object to provide an information processing apparatus comprising: first and second input means for inputting an instruction performed for a display screen; discriminating means for discriminating an entry by the first input means and an entry by the second input means; and processing means for setting process conditions on the basis of a discrimination result by the discriminating means and executing a process based on the instruction.